


Survivors

by Flynne



Series: Garviel Shepard [1]
Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Garviel Shepard, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-12
Updated: 2018-05-12
Packaged: 2019-05-05 14:45:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14620902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flynne/pseuds/Flynne
Summary: There's a reason why Garviel Shepard and Ashley Williams became friends so easily.





	Survivors

Anderson had told Garv that Williams was assigned to the Normandy, but he had a hard time finding her. He eventually tracked her down to the dimly cargo hold, standing at the workbench. Her mouth was fixed in a grim line as she worked to repair her damaged armor. She stepped back from the bench and straightened as she saw him coming. “Commander. You need something?”

“Just checking in.” He hooked his thumbs in his belt, nodding at the bench. “Don’t let me interrupt you. Do you have everything you need?”

“Yeah, I’m good. Should be done with this soon.” She hesitated briefly before saying, “I didn’t have a chance to say it before, but I’m sorry about Jenkins, sir.”

“So am I,” Garv replied, regarding Williams with a deepened sense of respect. She hadn’t even met the enthusiastic young corporal, but she’d remembered his name anyway. “I appreciate you saying so.” He glanced at the battered plate she was repairing and ventured, “It was a rough scene down there. How’re you doing?”

Williams averted her eyes, turning back to her work. “Not sure how I’m supposed to be doing,” she said in a low voice.

“Were you with the 212 for a while?”

“Yeah.” Williams’s voice caught on the word. She set her tools down, squeezing her eyes shut as she flattened her hands against the workbench. “They’re  _all gone_ ,” she said, voice bleak. “You try and tell yourself that sometimes marines die, that someday it might be you, but…”

Garv sighed. “But you’re not ready for it to be all of them,” he said softly.

Williams looked up sharply then, her rueful expression betraying the fact that she’d temporarily forgotten exactly who she was talking to. Garv gave her a sad but encouraging little smile, and she relaxed. She let out a sigh of her own, folding her arms across her chest as she turned her back on the workbench and leaned back against it. “The worst part,” she said dejectedly, “is that I ran. I kept fighting as long as I could, but then…I ran.”

Garv stuffed his hands in his pockets, leaning against the bench next to her. “I ran,” he said quietly. He didn’t elaborate on what he meant, but the tilt of her head as she looked at him told him that she’d understood, and that she was listening. It was rare that he was willing to voluntarily mention Akuze, and never to a stranger…but even though he’d only met the gunnery chief less than a day ago, she was a fellow marine who had seen her unit cut down in front of her. Garv wouldn’t pretend to know what she was thinking, but he knew what she was going through. “We’re soldiers. Sometimes we’ve got to stay in a fight we know we can’t win. But sometimes, just surviving is more important. Running kept you alive. I don’t know if we would have found the beacon without your help. Or if we would have been in time to disarm those charges the geth planted. But you already know that.” He waited for that to sink in before gentling his tone and adding, “And you’re a witness to what happened. You can speak for your team. Make sure people know what they did.”

Williams nodded, but dropped her gaze to the floor again. “You’re right, sir. But I’m not sure it makes me feel any better.”

“It probably won’t right now. But it can, with time. If you let it.”

They stood beside each other in silence for several minutes before Williams finally said in a low voice, “Thank you, sir. I’ll think about what you said.” She looked up, trying but not quite managing to smile. “I mean it. I’m not just saying that.”

“I know.” Garv pushed away from the bench and turned to go. “I won’t bring it up again. But my door’s always open if you need to talk.”

That got a small but genuine smile. “Thanks, Skipper.”

Garv blinked, surprised but not displeased by the nickname. The corner of his mouth twitched upward as he turned to go, heading back towards the elevator and the CIC.


End file.
